Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Touchy feely immigration

A while back I wrote about immigration aiding self actualization. I think it's true, but many unsentimental people living nice countries don't much care about the dreams of foreigners, so it's useless for my quest to change people's minds.

There is a corollary to the self actualization point that should be more convincing; innovation. We all benefit every day from the cleverness of other individuals. Individuals save our lives by finding cures for things, save us time by making microwaves and keep us safe by helping to prevent bloody land grabs (thinking of Mandela). I'm not sure exactly what comfort would be missing from my life if Einstein had died as a baby, but I'm glad he did the things he did and I think the world is a better place for them. The thing about good ideas and innovations is that we don't know what they are till they happen. We didn?t miss the internet before it existed and there are plenty of other things were not missing now but could be making our lives better if they had been made.

How many potential Einstein?s have died before their 18th birthday or spent their lives just trying to get enough food to eat?